In four short days, twinnie and I will embark on a journey of epic proportions--heading across the Atlantic to join in a pilgrimage hundreds of years old. The Camino de Santiago, or Way of St. James, began in the 9th century when the remains of the apostle were discovered in a field and a shrine was built on the site, drawing pilgrims from around the world.
Ignatius junkies that we are, we will also visit the monastery in Montserrat where he had a vision of the Blessed Mother during his conversion. Then we will take the overnight train up to Galicia with a plan to walk just over the last 100 miles of the Camino along the Via Frances (the French Way starts on the other side of the Pyrenees, but we don't have six weeks). I say that it's our plan because the one thing I hear from everyone who's done the Camino, besides that it's amazing, is that it doesn't quite go how you plan.
As we get down to the wire, I'll be honest, that part terrifies me. If you know me, you know that I'm a J to the max on the Myers-Briggs scale. I like planning, I like knowing what's going to happen, and even when I try not to have expectations, they sometimes have me. Two weeks of not only being in a foreign country with a foreign language, but also being on my feet, with minimal comforts of home, shared bunkrooms, at the mercy of whatever is in the next town--yeah, not a dream for a J. But, also very important to stretch myself, and a great opportunity to learn to trust and roll with the punches. Because, you may also know that I'm fixin' to be hitched this fall, and as I was told last week, "The Camino will be the perfect preparation for marriage".
They say the Camino is whatever God wants it to be for you at that time, and I think there is no better time for me to let go of control. That doesn't mean it will be easy, so please pray for me. We have decided that the benefits of unplugging outweigh the benefits of keeping our faithful readers updated, so no blog while we're gone, but I'll tell you all about it when we get home.
Monday, April 25, 2016
Thursday, April 7, 2016
Not Just Joy
For those of you haven't seen the movie "Inside Out", I highly recommend you dismiss the notion that it's a children's film or immature or silly, and just see it. It has a (surprisingly research-based) look at the emotions vying inside each of our heads. I was made aware of the truth behind it this week when I learned that the human has six basic emotions: happiness, sadness, fear, surprise, anger, and disgust (newer research suggests that maybe fear/surprise and anger/disgust have similar origins; "Inside Out" left out surprise).
What I think is interesting about this (and it's not my own insight, but it is worth sharing) is that most of us have been taught that the only acceptable emotion in most daily circumstances is happiness.
If we're sad, we better pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, remember that others have it worse, hide our tears, get it together, see a therapist, or eat some ice cream.
If we're angry or disgusted, we'd better not show it, or at least show it in a very socially acceptable manner that involves a lot of tolerance, productive actions, and G-rated language. And also, it's more okay to feel anger if you're a man.
If we're surprised or afraid, we need to run, hide, man-up, take a deep breath, always carry a weapon, trust God more, or try harder to change our circumstances.
So that if you're feeling anything but happiness, it should be short-lived, well-controlled, for a very, very good reason, and mostly experienced on the inside.
Well, that's just not how it works, and that's okay. We were discussing it in the context of acceptance and mindfulness, being able to see your emotions as a reaction and not judging them for being the "wrong" emotions, but allowing them to exist because they already do. We still have a choice whether we respond according to those emotions, but they are still there, and they still serve a purpose. Which "Inside Out" showed so well.
So whether you are happy, disgusted, or fearful, know that they are all perfectly normal and acceptable emotional states. Give yourself a little break. Admit it, we all thought Joy was a little over-the-top annoying anyways.
What I think is interesting about this (and it's not my own insight, but it is worth sharing) is that most of us have been taught that the only acceptable emotion in most daily circumstances is happiness.
If we're sad, we better pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, remember that others have it worse, hide our tears, get it together, see a therapist, or eat some ice cream.
If we're angry or disgusted, we'd better not show it, or at least show it in a very socially acceptable manner that involves a lot of tolerance, productive actions, and G-rated language. And also, it's more okay to feel anger if you're a man.
If we're surprised or afraid, we need to run, hide, man-up, take a deep breath, always carry a weapon, trust God more, or try harder to change our circumstances.
So that if you're feeling anything but happiness, it should be short-lived, well-controlled, for a very, very good reason, and mostly experienced on the inside.
Well, that's just not how it works, and that's okay. We were discussing it in the context of acceptance and mindfulness, being able to see your emotions as a reaction and not judging them for being the "wrong" emotions, but allowing them to exist because they already do. We still have a choice whether we respond according to those emotions, but they are still there, and they still serve a purpose. Which "Inside Out" showed so well.
So whether you are happy, disgusted, or fearful, know that they are all perfectly normal and acceptable emotional states. Give yourself a little break. Admit it, we all thought Joy was a little over-the-top annoying anyways.
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